The NHS, working with Public Health England (PHE), has announced a new drive to save thousands of people from heart attacks and strokes.
New PHE analysis suggests that there is now an opportunity to prevent more than 9,000 heart attacks and at least 14,000 strokes over the next three years with better detection and management of high blood pressure, high cholesterol and atrial fibrillation.
Sir Bruce Keogh, the national medical director of NHS England, said that closer working between NHS organisations and local authorities will “create new opportunities to get serious about prevention and bear down on two of the biggest killers, between them responsible for one in four premature deaths”.
Speaking at the NHS Expo conference in Manchester, Sir Bruce urged the new sustainability and transformation partnerships (STPs) to take coordinated action to improve prevention, diagnosis and treatment of these life-threatening conditions.
“Cardiovascular disease kills more people in this country than anything else,” the former heart surgeon said. “We know how to treat the resulting heart attacks and stroke, but everyone knows that prevention is better than cure. Prevention of these devastating consequences is everybody’s business from our schools, to the food and tobacco industries, to local authorities and the NHS.”
Some 5.5 million people in England have undiagnosed high blood pressure and nearly half a million have undiagnosed atrial fibrillation, which are both usually symptomless conditions that substantially increase the risk of stroke, heart attack, dementia and limb amputations. Treatment is effective at reducing risk but under treatment is common among those who are diagnosed.
Achieving optimal treatment in all people with diagnosed high blood pressure has the potential to avert up to 9,710 heart attacks and 14,500 strokes saving up to £274m.
Achieving optimal treatment those diagnosed with atrial fibrillation has the potential to avert up to 14,220 strokes, saving £241m.
Duncan Selbie, chief executive of Public Health England, said: “High blood pressure is the invisible killer. We want people to be as familiar with their blood pressure numbers as they are with their credit card PIN or their height.
“Too many people are still living in poor health and dying from a largely preventable disease. The good news is that we know how most heart attacks and strokes can be avoided. Scaling up CVD prevention locally is a major part of reducing the overall burden on individuals, families and the NHS, and will help to ensure a person’s health is not defined by where they live.”
